A plate of fibrous tissue that divides the temporomandibular joint into an upper and lower cavity. The disc is attached to the articular capsule and moves forward with the condyle in free opening and protrusion. (Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p92)

An articulation between the condyle of the mandible and the articular tubercle of the temporal bone.

A variety of conditions affecting the anatomic and functional characteristics of the temporomandibular joint. Factors contributing to the complexity of temporomandibular diseases are its relation to dentition and mastication and the symptomatic effects in other areas which account for referred pain to the joint and the difficulties in applying traditional diagnostic procedures to temporomandibular joint pathology where tissue is rarely obtained and x-rays are often inadequate or nonspecific. Common diseases are developmental abnormalities, trauma, subluxation, luxation, arthritis, and neoplasia. (From Thoma's Oral Pathology, 6th ed, pp577-600)

"Dislocation is a traumatic injury wherein the normal articulation between two bones at a joint is disrupted, resulting in the complete separation of the bone ends and associated soft tissues from their usual position."

The maximum compression a material can withstand without failure. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed, p427)

A symptom complex consisting of pain, muscle tenderness, clicking in the joint, and limitation or alteration of mandibular movement. The symptoms are subjective and manifested primarily in the masticatory muscles rather than the temporomandibular joint itself. Etiologic factors are uncertain but include occlusal dysharmony and psychophysiologic factors.

The posterior process on the ramus of the mandible composed of two parts: a superior part, the articular portion, and an inferior part, the condylar neck.

Pain in the facial region including orofacial pain and craniofacial pain. Associated conditions include local inflammatory and neoplastic disorders and neuralgic syndromes involving the trigeminal, facial, and glossopharyngeal nerves. Conditions which feature recurrent or persistent facial pain as the primary manifestation of disease are referred to as FACIAL PAIN SYNDROMES.

Fixation and immobility of a joint.

Rare, benign, chronic, progressive metaplasia in which cartilage is formed in the synovial membranes of joints, tendon sheaths, or bursae. Some of the metaplastic foci can become detached producing loose bodies. When the loose bodies undergo secondary calcification, the condition is called synovial osteochondromatosis.

Congenital or acquired asymmetry of the face.

Two of the masticatory muscles: the internal, or medial, pterygoid muscle and external, or lateral, pterygoid muscle. Action of the former is closing the jaws and that of the latter is opening the jaws, protruding the mandible, and moving the mandible from side to side.

Muscles arising in the zygomatic arch that close the jaw. Their nerve supply is masseteric from the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

Either of a pair of compound bones forming the lateral (left and right) surfaces and base of the skull which contains the organs of hearing. It is a large bone formed by the fusion of parts: the squamous (the flattened anterior-superior part), the tympanic (the curved anterior-inferior part), the mastoid (the irregular posterior portion), and the petrous (the part at the base of the skull).

A disorder characterized by grinding and clenching of the teeth.

Rigid or flexible appliances that overlay the occlusal surfaces of the teeth. They are used to treat clenching and bruxism and their sequelae, and to provide temporary relief from muscle or temporomandibular joint pain.

Also known as articulations, these are points of connection between the ends of certain separate bones, or where the borders of other bones are juxtaposed.

A registration of any positional relationship of the mandible in reference to the maxillae. These records may be any of the many vertical, horizontal, or orientation relations. (Jablonski, Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry)

The largest and strongest bone of the FACE constituting the lower jaw. It supports the lower teeth.